I am writing to request information under the Freedom of
Information Act about the No Use Empty Scehem. Specifically, I
would like to know:

1. The full list of all properties in Margate and Cliftonville that
have been part of the No Use Empty Scheme since the scheme began in 2005.

2. Details of the amount of No Use Empty funds allocated to each
property.

3. The number of properties that were part of the scheme that are
still unoccupied.

5. List of properties that have repaid the NUE loan.

Our preferred format to receive this information is by electronic
means. If one part of this request can be answered sooner than
others, please send that information first followed by any
subsequent data. If you need any clarification of this request
please feel free to email me. If FOI requests of a similar nature
have already been asked could you please include your responses to
those requests.

Many public authorities release their contracts with private
vendors in line with the Freedom of Information Act. The exemption
for commercial interest under the Act (section 43) is a qualified
exemption, which means information can only be withheld if it is in
the public*s interest. The public have an interest in knowing the
terms of contracts and grants awarded by public authorities,
whether or not public money changes hands immediately.

If you are relying on section 41 (the exemption for legal breach of
confidence) then we would like to know the following:
* When these confidentiality agreements were agreed
* All correspondence and email in which these confidentiality
agreements were discussed.
* The precise wording of the confidentiality agreements

We ask these questions because guidance issued by both the Lord
Chancellor (draft guidance on FOI implementation) and the Office of
Government Commerce (Model terms and conditions for goods and
services) specifically state that public authorities should not
enter into these types of agreements. They go directly against the
spirit of the laws of disclosure. We would also point to the
Information Commissioner*s guidance on accepting blanket commercial
confidentiality agreements: *Unless confidentiality clauses are
necessary or reasonable, there is a real risk that, in the event of
a complaint, the Commissioner would order disclosure in any case.*

Finally, within the law of confidence there is also a public
interest test. Therefore, the information should be disclosed in
full. If any parts are redacted they must be for information that
can be proven to be a legal breach of confidence in court, and only
then where secrecy can be shown to be in the public interest. These
are difficult positions to argue when public money is at stake or
where a public authority is offering a private company a monopoly
to charge its stakeholders.

We would be grateful if you could confirm, in writing, that you
have received this request, and we look forward to hearing from you
within the 20-working day statutory time period.

Kent County Council acknowledges your request for information under the
Freedom of Information Act 2000. Assuming KCC holds this information, we
will endeavour to supply the data to you as soon as possible but no later
than 21st December 2011 (20 working days from date of receipt).

We will advise you as soon as possible if we do not hold this information
or if there are exemptions to be considered and/or any costs for providing
the information. Please quote our reference - FOI/11/1655 - in any
communication regarding this particular request.

I am writing to request information under the Freedom of
Information Act about the No Use Empty Scehem. Specifically, I
would like to know:

1. The full list of all properties in Margate and Cliftonville that
have been part of the No Use Empty Scheme since the scheme began in
2005.

2. Details of the amount of No Use Empty funds allocated to each
property.

3. The number of properties that were part of the scheme that are
still unoccupied.

5. List of properties that have repaid the NUE loan.

Our preferred format to receive this information is by electronic
means. If one part of this request can be answered sooner than
others, please send that information first followed by any
subsequent data. If you need any clarification of this request
please feel free to email me. If FOI requests of a similar nature
have already been asked could you please include your responses to
those requests.

Many public authorities release their contracts with private
vendors in line with the Freedom of Information Act. The exemption
for commercial interest under the Act (section 43) is a qualified
exemption, which means information can only be withheld if it is in
the public*s interest. The public have an interest in knowing the
terms of contracts and grants awarded by public authorities,
whether or not public money changes hands immediately.

If you are relying on section 41 (the exemption for legal breach of
confidence) then we would like to know the following:
* When these confidentiality agreements were agreed
* All correspondence and email in which these confidentiality
agreements were discussed.
* The precise wording of the confidentiality agreements

We ask these questions because guidance issued by both the Lord
Chancellor (draft guidance on FOI implementation) and the Office of
Government Commerce (Model terms and conditions for goods and
services) specifically state that public authorities should not
enter into these types of agreements. They go directly against the
spirit of the laws of disclosure. We would also point to the
Information Commissioner*s guidance on accepting blanket commercial
confidentiality agreements: *Unless confidentiality clauses are
necessary or reasonable, there is a real risk that, in the event of
a complaint, the Commissioner would order disclosure in any case.*

Finally, within the law of confidence there is also a public
interest test. Therefore, the information should be disclosed in
full. If any parts are redacted they must be for information that
can be proven to be a legal breach of confidence in court, and only
then where secrecy can be shown to be in the public interest. These
are difficult positions to argue when public money is at stake or
where a public authority is offering a private company a monopoly
to charge its stakeholders.

We would be grateful if you could confirm, in writing, that you
have received this request, and we look forward to hearing from you
within the 20-working day statutory time period.

Yours faithfully,

Louise Oldfield

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #94237 email]

Is [Kent County Council request email] the wrong address for Freedom
of Information requests to Kent County Council? If so, please
contact us using this form:

Further to your request for information relating to the No Use Empty
Scheme, our response is provided as follows:

You asked for:

1. The full list of all properties in Margate and Cliftonville that have
been part of the No Use Empty Scheme since the scheme began in 2005.

A full list of properties is not held by Kent County Council (KCC) but
will be held by Thanet District Council (TDC). KCC only holds information
in respect of loan applications.
2. Details of the amount of No Use Empty funds allocated to each
property.

An Individual's loan application and financial outcome is considered by
the Council to be personal information which if disclosed would amount to
a breach of the Data Protection Act 1998 (relating to unlawful processing
of personal data) and accordingly falls outside of the scope of this
AuthorityÂ*s disclosure obligations by virtue of section 40 of the Freedom
of Information Act.

However to assist you we can confirm that the value of loans administered
to properties in the wards mentioned are:

Cliftonville Â£ 1,120,000

Margate Â£ 472,200

Total Â£ 1,592,200

Which have supported 80 units - average loan is Â£19k.

3. The number of properties that were part of the scheme that are still
unoccupied.
This Information is not held by KCC.

5. List of properties that have repaid the NUE loan.
An Individual's loan application and financial outcome is considered by
the Council to be personal information which if disclosed would amount to
a breach of the Data Protection Act 1998 (relating to unlawful processing
of personal data) and accordingly falls outside of the scope of this
AuthorityÂ*s disclosure obligations by virtue of section 40 of the Freedom
of Information Act.

However, we can advise that the total value of loans repaid to date stands
at Â£943,540 of which Â£192,000 relates specifically to Margate and
Cliftonville. The majority of loans administered in these two wards fall
due on 31st March 2013.

I trust this response is helpful to you but if you have any query with the
information provided please contact me. However, if you are unhappy with
this response, and believe KCC has not complied with legislation, please
ask for a review by following our complaints process; details can be found
at this
link [1]http://www.kent.gov.uk/your_council/have... our website. Please quote reference FOI/11/1655 in any further
correspondence relating to this request.

If you still remain dissatisfied following an internal review, you can
appeal to the Information Commissioner, who oversees compliance with the
Freedom of Information Act 2000. Details of what you need to do, should
you wish to pursue this course of action, are available from the
Information CommissionerÂ*s website
[2]http://www.ico.gov.uk/complaints/freedom...

Kent County Council acknowledges your request for information under the
Freedom of Information Act 2000. Assuming KCC holds this information, we
will endeavour to supply the data to you as soon as possible but no later
than 21st December 2011 (20 working days from date of receipt).

We will advise you as soon as possible if we do not hold this information
or if there are exemptions to be considered and/or any costs for providing
the information. Please quote our reference - FOI/11/1655 - in any
communication regarding this particular request.

I am writing to request information under the Freedom of
Information Act about the No Use Empty Scehem. Specifically, I
would like to know:

1. The full list of all properties in Margate and Cliftonville that
have been part of the No Use Empty Scheme since the scheme began in
2005.

2. Details of the amount of No Use Empty funds allocated to each
property.

3. The number of properties that were part of the scheme that are
still unoccupied.

5. List of properties that have repaid the NUE loan.

Our preferred format to receive this information is by electronic
means. If one part of this request can be answered sooner than
others, please send that information first followed by any
subsequent data. If you need any clarification of this request
please feel free to email me. If FOI requests of a similar nature
have already been asked could you please include your responses to
those requests.

Many public authorities release their contracts with private
vendors in line with the Freedom of Information Act. The exemption
for commercial interest under the Act (section 43) is a qualified
exemption, which means information can only be withheld if it is in
the public*s interest. The public have an interest in knowing the
terms of contracts and grants awarded by public authorities,
whether or not public money changes hands immediately.

If you are relying on section 41 (the exemption for legal breach of
confidence) then we would like to know the following:
* When these confidentiality agreements were agreed
* All correspondence and email in which these confidentiality
agreements were discussed.
* The precise wording of the confidentiality agreements

We ask these questions because guidance issued by both the Lord
Chancellor (draft guidance on FOI implementation) and the Office of
Government Commerce (Model terms and conditions for goods and
services) specifically state that public authorities should not
enter into these types of agreements. They go directly against the
spirit of the laws of disclosure. We would also point to the
Information Commissioner*s guidance on accepting blanket commercial
confidentiality agreements: *Unless confidentiality clauses are
necessary or reasonable, there is a real risk that, in the event of
a complaint, the Commissioner would order disclosure in any case.*

Finally, within the law of confidence there is also a public
interest test. Therefore, the information should be disclosed in
full. If any parts are redacted they must be for information that
can be proven to be a legal breach of confidence in court, and only
then where secrecy can be shown to be in the public interest. These
are difficult positions to argue when public money is at stake or
where a public authority is offering a private company a monopoly
to charge its stakeholders.

We would be grateful if you could confirm, in writing, that you
have received this request, and we look forward to hearing from you
within the 20-working day statutory time period.

Yours faithfully,

Louise Oldfield

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #94237 email]

Is [Kent County Council request email] the wrong address for Freedom
of Information requests to Kent County Council? If so, please
contact us using this form:

I am sorry you are unhappy with KCC's response to your request for
information specifically that we have indicated we do not hold the
requested information.

The Information Resilience and Transparency Team Leader will investigate
your concerns and review our original response. Their reply will be
forthcoming within 20 working days from receipt of your email (by 13th
February 2012)

I have now completed a review of the Council's response to your request
for information relating to empty properties in Margate and
Cliftonville. Please accept my sincere apologies for the slight delay in
responding to you; I appreciate that the Council has not complied with
the Information Commissioner's guidelines regarding complaint handling
timescales.

Following my investigations, I am able to confirm that Kent County
Council does not hold a complete list of all empty properties for
Cliftonville and Margate. The only information held by KCC is as
described in our response to you dated 21st December 2011. To clarify,
KCC only has a list of properties where a loan enquiry or application
has been made.

We are able to confirm that:
210 packs have gone out in Thanet as a whole since the start of the loan
scheme.
36 loans across Thanet have been approved - 12 of which are Cliftonville
& Margate Central.

If Thanet District Council's (TDC) Empty Property Initiative Team do not
hold a list of all empty properties then it is likely that information
falling within the scope of your request will be held by TDC's council
tax team.

I trust that this explanation now satisfies your complaint. However, if
you are still unhappy with the decision, you can appeal to the
Information Commissioner, who oversees compliance with the Freedom of
Information Act 2000. Details of what you need to do, should you wish to
pursue this course of action, are available from the Information
Commissioner's website
http://www.ico.gov.uk/complaints/freedom... or you can
phone the ICO Helpline on 08456 30 60 60.

I am sorry you are unhappy with KCC's response to your request for
information specifically that we have indicated we do not hold the
requested information.

The Information Resilience and Transparency Team Leader will investigate
your concerns and review our original response. Their reply will be
forthcoming within 20 working days from receipt of your email (by 13th
February 2012)

Thank you for your email below. As elements of your request below have not
been asked previously, we are dealing with it as a new FOI request rather
than a complaint. Please be aware that the timescales are exactly the
same.

Kent County Council acknowledges your request for information under the
Freedom of Information Act 2000. Assuming KCC holds this information, we
will endeavour to supply the data to you as soon as possible but no later
than 17 May 2012 (20 working days from date of receipt).

We will advise you as soon as possible if we do not hold this information
or if there are exemptions to be considered and/or any costs for providing
the information. Please quote our reference - FOI/12/0586 - in any
communication regarding this particular request.

Further to your request for information, in which you asked for a list of
properties KCC has agreed funding for through the KCC funded No Use Empty
Scheme.

Providing a list of properties that KCC have funded under No Use Empty
would enable the identification of the the owners and recipients of
funds. The fact that an Individual has made a loan application and is in
receipt of funds is considered by the Council to be personal
information which if disclosed would amount to a breach of the Data
Protection Act 1998 (relating to unlawful processing of personal data) and
accordingly falls outside of the scope of this Authority’s disclosure
obligations by virtue of section 40(2) of the Freedom of Information Act.

If you are unhappy with this response, and believe KCC has not complied
with legislation, please ask for a review by following our complaints
process; details can be found at this link
[1]http://www.kent.gov.uk/your_council/have... on our website. Please quote reference FOI/12/0586.

If you still remain dissatisfied following an internal review, you can
appeal to the Information Commissioner, who oversees compliance with the
Freedom of Information Act 2000. Details of what you need to do, should
you wish to pursue this course of action, are available from the
Information Commissioner’s website
[2]http://www.ico.gov.uk/complaints/freedom...

Thank you for your email below. As elements of your request below have not
been asked previously, we are dealing with it as a new FOI request rather
than a complaint. Please be aware that the timescales are exactly the
same.

Kent County Council acknowledges your request for information under the
Freedom of Information Act 2000. Assuming KCC holds this information, we
will endeavour to supply the data to you as soon as possible but no later
than 17 May 2012 (20 working days from date of receipt).

We will advise you as soon as possible if we do not hold this information
or if there are exemptions to be considered and/or any costs for providing
the information. Please quote our reference - FOI/12/0586 - in any
communication regarding this particular request.